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Within-colony predation of Leach's Storm-petrels (Hydrobates leucorhous)
No full textPredation at breeding colony islands threatens half of all seabird species. Although islands provide some refuge from predators, their remote nature may foster high population densities and fluctuating food availability for rodents, possibly leading to deviations from herbivory to meet energy demands. Leach's Storm-petrel Hydrobates leucorhous (LHSP) populations are declining for reasons that are likely multicausal, and perhaps local or regional, but relative contributions of individual causes are poorly understood. To help understand causes, I used transect surveys for LHSP remains to quantify predation at two NovaScotian LHSP breeding colonies that differ in predator management: Bon Portage (BP) Island (no management), and Country Island (CI; management used). Predation of LHSP eggs and nestlings on each island and adult predation on CI
were scarcely detected. However, I estimated 4000 adult-plumaged LHSP were depredated on BP annually. We do not know how general these rates are because of differences among colonies in predator communities. Meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus) have been suspected of depredating LHSP nests on CI. I used stable isotope analysis of vole faeces and fur, vegetation, and LHSP tissues from each island to examine whether vole diet deviated from herbivory. Stable isotope values in vole fur and faeces may indicate omnivory, especially on CI; however, high δ15N values may also be reflective of the influence of guano on vegetation and invertebrates in vole diets. Sampling of more food sources and mainland controls are needed to get a better picture of vole diets and determine whether they are consuming LHSP eggs or nestlings.
LHSP are listed as "Vulnerable" globally, and although up to a 5% annual loss of adults and occasional nest depredation by voles may be sustainable for a healthy population, such losses may exacerbate population declines if other factors are additive
Investigating cerebellar influence on theory of mind via transcranial magnetic stimulation
No full textThe cerebellum, while traditionally thought to play a role in motor coordination, is now hypothesized to be associated with many aspects of cognition. It is theorized that the cerebellum contributes
predictions about future motor, sensory, and cognitive states and modifies its output based on whether these predictions are met. Patients with cerebellar damage often have problems with theory of mind (ToM), which includes an ability to predict others' mental states. Here we propose a study to investigate whether inhibition of the cerebellum in healthy subjects will have an effect on ToM; we
hypothesized that a temporary lesion to the cerebellum would have greater influence on ToM than a control site. To test this, participants would be quantitatively scored on ToM before and after experiencing transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), which is a non-invasive procedure that would target and temporarily inhibit the function of the cerebellum or a control site. Simulated pre and post-TMS scores for cerebellar TMS and control groups were analyzed and appeared to support our hypothesis; participants that received cerebellar TMS experienced significant differences in ToM compared to the control group, and TMS to the cerebellum significantly decreased participants' ToM ability. These results, if born from a real study, would provide support for emerging hypotheses implying a broader range of cerebellar function exists than what is traditionally accepted to be so
The role of player nationality and position on football transfer fees
No full textToday's football landscape is molded by the multi-million-euro transfers of players from club to club. We see football clubs today spending over €200 million for a single player to boost their chances of winning games and therefore championships; however, current research lacks analysis as to what factors impact this transfer. It has appeared, in the past, that football teams have held biases over the years towards favouring certain nationalities and positions. South American and European players are often at the forefront of the most expensive transfers in the world. In terms of player position, attackers dominate in terms of transfer fees paid.
This paper aims to examine whether these biases are validated by statistical analysis and what role nationality and player position have in determining transfer fees. Through a quantitative approach to data collection and analysis using multiple regression models, 40 variables were analyzed over 3 primary categories: 1. Player Characteristics, 2. Player Performance and 3. Player Achievements.
The results of the Ordinary Least Squares regressions did not show any statistically significant findings for the impact of nationality on transfer fees; however, results did show that a premium is paid for an attacking player compared to midfielders and defenders. There were also statistically significant, positive relationships found between 1. attacking players making key passes and 2. registering assists and their transfer value. Similarly, goals scored by defenders significantly increased their transfer value. This research could lead to football managers and sporting directors reducing errors in the transfer window and give a better understanding of the breakdown of the fees they are paying for players
Predicting the donor journey using machine learning
No full textThe fundamental question for fundraisers is what action they should take next to maximize their probability of receiving donations. One approach is to build a machine learning model based on the constituent's past activities and useit to predict the next best action. To implement this, we used Long Short-term Memory Networks (LSTMs) which were able to learn from the time-series data and predict donations within 16, giving the charities an improved model to choose actions and email parameters that should in turn improve donations
What role does prayer and visualization play In fostering a secure attachment to God?
No full textConsiderable psychological research has examined the way humans make attachment to God and attachment to close others. The goal of this research was to investigate the role prayers and visualization make in enhancing a secure attachment with God and correspondingly attachment with close others. The cognitive foundations of this study involve examining whether or not a more concrete understanding of God, as revealed in the Judeo-Christians Scriptures, can also fulfill Ainsworth's criteria for an attachment figure. The study also develops a theological understanding of how prayers and visualization may function as a viable means for enhancing a perceived sense of attachment to God. The study involved using two self-report questionnaires, respectively entitled "Experiences in Close Relationships," and "Attachment to God Inventory." Participants from three Baptist churches were given five prayer and visualization exercises to be completed over five weeks. The method included using meditative and colloquial prayers while visualizing a benevolent God through concrete objects. The investigation revealed that the prayer and visualization exercises were successful in enhancing a more secure attachment to God. It was further discovered that there was a corresponding effect on how participants also felt more secure in their relationships with significant others. Several study limitations and practical applications are also presented
Understanding youth homelessness: a study of rural Nova Scotia homelessness
No full textYouth make up 20 percent of the homeless population in Canada and are the fastest growing demographic among Canada's homeless population (Gaetz O'Grady, Kidd, & Schwan, 2016). Much of the existing data on homelessness, however, emerges from urban centres, leaving rural homelessness less understood. This community-based participatory research study aims to better understand rural youth homelessness through
two methods, a service-based count in order to identify the rates of rural youth homelessness in three Nova Scotia municipalities, and focus groups to understand service provider perspectives of rural youth homelessness. This research identified 46 youth experiencing homelessness in the three municipalities and explores barriers for homeless youth when accessing support service in rural settings, barriers specific to LGBTQ2S+ and racially marginalized homeless youth, the impact of a lack of safe social spaces for rural homeless youth, and harmful community attitudes towards homeless youth
The prediction of aggression in persons with dementia using electronic health records
No full textPatients with dementia will eventually experience a significant loss of cognitive function. As a result, they will have difficulty solving and communicating their physical problems and emotional pain appropriately. This leads to frustration that can manifest itself as lower-risk behaviours such as restlessness and repetitiveness to higher risk behaviours such as agitation and verbal or physical aggression. Therefore, monitoring the risk of a resident harming themselves or others is a priority within a long-term care facility where dementia is present. Caregivers are trained to recognize signs of degrading states of dementia and common sources of stress for people with dementia but predicting when the aggressive behaviour is going to happen needs more investigation. We investigate the use of structured data and unstructured text data from Electronic Health Records (EHR) to predict a residents future level of aggression by using natural language processing and machine learning techniques. The project involved significant work to anonymize patients records to meet Research Ethics Board (REB) requirements. A level of aggression (LoA) metric is created to provide a barometer of a resident's aggressive behaviour and to overcome a spars collection of aggressive acts, even for the most aggressive resident. The project focuses on inductive decision trees so as to provide human readable models for analysis of important factors and their relation to level of aggressio
N-Acyliminium Ion Chemistry on 4-Oxo-N-arylpentanamides
No full textHeterocycles have significant applications in medicinal chemistry. This importance is presented in the preface of the thesis with discussion leading to heterosteroids. The original plan for this investigation was to prepare analogs of 12,14-diaza-steroids through hetero-Diels Alder reaction between organic nitriles and N-acyliminium ions derived from levulinic acid amides of 2-naphthylamines. To obtain the proof of principle, the levulinic acid amide of aniline was prepared and reacted with benzonitrile in presence of BF3.Et2O as the Lewis acid. This reaction did not produce the expected hetero-Diels Alder adduct. However, a new product was obtained which was characterized as 3-(2-methyl-5-oxo-1-phenylpyrrolidin-2-yl)-4-oxo-N-phenylpentanamide, a dimer of the starting levulinanilide. This dimerization process was found to be unprecedented, unique, and potentially useful in making new heterocycles including heterosteroids. We decided to systematically investigate this chemistry and its usefulness.
The starting twelve levulinanilides (and two others related ketoanilides) were prepared in good to excellent yields using three peptide coupling conditions. The conditions for dimerization of levulinanilides were optimized using unsubstituted levulinanilide as the model substrate. Application of the optimized conditions on levulinanilides (and other related ketoanilides) led to synthesis of thirteen new dimers; two examples among these were found to follow a different reaction pathway leading to a new type of cyclized dimer. Plausible mechanisms of these reactions are proposed. All compounds were thoroughly characterized using spectrometric techniques (1H & 13C NMR and ESI-HRMS)
"People exist outside of the binary and what you expect": a qualitative analysis of non-binary individuals' experiences in the medical system of Nova Scotia
No full textThe author explores the experiences of non-binary individuals within the Nova Scotia medical system with a focus on the inclusion or exclusion of their identities and how that has affected their medical access for both general health and gender-affirming healthcare. Interviews were utilized and consisted of eleven interviews with non-binary individuals, some of which were conducted in person and the remainder were conducted via Zoom, Skype and Discord. Following this the qualitative data were then analyzed and coding methods were used to discover the themes which emerged from the data to find themes such as misgendering, a lack of education/experience and (un)willingness to acknowledge on the part of healthcare professionals, presentation of self by participants expressed through personal appearance, use of advocates, possible avoidance of medical clinics/offices, and environmental (dis)comfort with the portrayal
of services such as posters or informational pamphlets available
Understanding cost differences of transit services between urban and rural Canada
No full textIn 2021, the Canadian government announced a new policy regarding public transit funding that has put rural transit projects in a disadvantageous position as the funding guidelines ignore the differences of transit demand and supply between urban and rural Canada. In other words, urban areas that have higher population density and more job opportunities, will also have more
complete and accessible public transit service that would attract more transit users, in contrast to rural areas. Hence, this thesis focuses on identifying the potential differences of ridership demand
and supply, and the required subsidy, between urban and rural Canadian transit operations by examining the empirical relationship on: (1) the factors affecting transit demand, (2) the factors affecting transit supply costs, and (3) the factors affecting the required subsidy per trip from the public transit users' approach. A pooled cross-sectional dataset comprised exclusively of
transit demand factors from 1996 to 2016 was used for the one-stage OLS regression for all three models. It should be noted that none of the existing literature has involved a cross-sectional comparison of public transit across Canadian cities, and none of these studies have focused on the rural context.
The results show that there are differences in ridership demand and supply, and the required subsidy, between urban and rural transit operations in Canada. Accounting for their respective
difference in socioeconomic, built environment, and ridership levels this thesis provides evidence for policymakers that rural and urban areas may need different transit funding policies